Crimson Hearts
by WingsofRequiem
Summary: The Crimson Elite protocol, a top secret training program that has a high fatality rate. Talon finds himself forced into this deadly gauntlet as he is pushed to his limits to become one of the first ever 'Crimson Elite' of Noxus, that would go down in legends. But he is not the only one, as he finds out. Bonds are made, through blood, sweat and tears. [HIATUS]
1. Chapter 1

**Hey th****ere guys! If you know me and have read my previous works, welcome to another fic by me! If you're a new reader, Welcome!**

**This is a new story that shot into my mind recently and I simply HAD to write it. So I'll be writing this before my Vayne x Vlad story and before the sequel of my Zed x Akali story.**

**Anyway, this story centers on Talon and Riven in their Crimson Elite training days and how their relation develops through that. It'll also feature some interesting things.  
>Warning; It might be slightly AU and OOC in some cases. I'm a human being, I have my own interpretation of characters and things and though I try my level best to keep things as accurate as I can, I might differ in opinions. I ask of you, dear readers, to not completely go bat-shit crazy when something that is supposed to be green is orange in my story. Or anything similar.<strong>

**The cover art of this story is titled 'Survive.', done and owned by the one and only Yosukii! A round of applause for him/her being an awesome person to allow me to use his/her artwork!**

**Anyway, ****without further ado, enjoy.**

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><p><strong>For Koneko-chan, who quiets the voices of insanity in my mind with her mere presence.<strong>

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><p><strong>Crimson<strong>** Hearts**

**Chapter 1: The Beginning of the End**

He sat upon the bed, staring down at the floor, hunched over, his elbows on his thighs and his hands dangling between his knees. His long brown hair fell all around his face, curtaining it from the world around. He was one of the best assassins that Valoran had ever seen, yet this was something so daunting, he was having a hard time just to face it. Today was the day. The day he was going to apply for the Crimson Elite.

'_Well… Apply was the wrong word to use here.' _Talon mused with a small smirk as he stared down at the ground, the pressure upon him daunting. The Crimson Elite were supposedly the countermeasures taken by Noxus against the Demacian Commandos. Problem was, the Crimson Elite are supposedly going to be the best of the best, with such an inhuman training course that the predicted fatality rate was 99% among all of the inductees. And Talon, being such a skilled member within the Noxian faction was 'forced' into this by General Swain.

There was a knock at his door as he glanced at it through the tresses of brown falling around his head. He reached down to his boot, a finger hooking into the handle of a throwing knife hidden there as he said, "Come in."

The door opened and he tensed slightly, only to relax after seeing that it was Katarina du Couteau. Katarina was one of the constants in Talon's life. Someone he knew would always be there for him, someone he could trust completely to watch his back, which was a very, very rare thing. She was probably the only person Talon would trust his life with, aside from her father, Marcus du Couteau.  
>"Hey." She said in a gentler voice than she would normally use, knowing that Talon was a bomb with a feather-light pressure trigger at the moment. She walked over to sit next to him, as Talon went back to staring at the floor.<br>"How are you holding up?" She asked, as Talon took a few moments of silence before replying, "I'm managing."  
>Katarina stayed silent as she stared down at the ground too, her emerald eyes a lot more thoughtful than they normally were. She finally looked at him, putting an arm around his shoulder and pulling him in for a loose side-embrace as she said, "Don't worry about it… You'll make it… If anyone can, it'll be you." She said as Talon let out a small cynical snort. "You don't sound very sure." He said as Katarina stayed silent. He too, stayed silent after this, and they sat there, enjoying each other's company. If there was one person in this life that Talon could call a 'friend', it would be Katarina.<p>

…

There was a large crowd. Much larger than expected. Talon stood uncomfortably in one corner of the room, trying to stay away from the crowd, yet they milled all around him. They gave him some distance; his signature bladed cape and arm blade warranted that respect, but with the number of people present inside the hall that they were said to gather in, they could only give him a feet of distance. And then, a voice echoed across the room, amplified by magic.

"Good morning, candidates. As you all know, you are gathered here today to apply for the Noxian High Command's secret Crimson Elite protocol. Some of you might have thought why so many people are present for it."

A pause. Absolute silence. Everyone was holding their breath.

"Others have guessed right. You see, there are about 500 of you but only 10 of you will be taken. Here is your first test, candidates. Prove yourself to be worthy of the top 10 spot. Survive and kill all others until only 10 of you remain." The voice said and for a few seconds, there was no sound or movement as everyone absorbed what the implications were. Then, all hell broke loose.

The people who were standing around Talon glanced at each other, then at him and decided to take him out. Talon swore under his breath as they all rushed at him, quickly jumping up and spinning around in midair. As he turned around, his left hand shot out at the people under him, throwing an arc of knives at those who had charged under him. Their faces looking up at him all proved to be an easy target as each knife found its mark, pronounced by an eruption of blood. As Talon landed, he crouched low, then spun around again, his cape whipping out around him, the steel at their edges flashing with deadly intent. Those who had tried to charge at him were instantly sliced up, and those who were smart enough to slowly advance were lucky enough to quickly backstep away. After his first spin, Talon had hooked his hands into the expanding shurikens at his belt. Latching the strings on one-handedly, Talon threw them at the men to the left of him, the shurikens expanding to their full size as they spun through the air like winds of death, slashing through anyone foolish enough to stand in its way. And then, Talon wrenched his arm to the right side, the strings going from his finger tips to his shurikens gleaming only for a moment as they went taut, before the shurikens followed in its wake, effectively slashing everyone in an arc around Talon. Talon pulled and then caught the shurikens with practiced ease, the rings and the retracted blades slick with blood. Talon himself was also covered in a good amount of blood that had splattered onto him, his purple hood dyed red in places where the blood dripped. The floor was already covered in a puddle of blood, coming from all the dead bodies already littering the hall.

And then, Talon saw a whole bunch of people still left. This was going to take a while…

… And take a while, it did. By the time only a handful of people were left and the last man fell, a sound rang out through the room. Talon was panting, gripping his side, where a sword had nicked him. Otherwise, he was literally covered in blood, his purple now a shiny shade of crimson as different hues of red from the new and drying blood intermixing dyed his clothes. He counted everyone who was there, count 10 with himself included. All of them were completely covered in red as well.

The door of the hall opened and there was a very audible splashing and dripping noise as the ankle deep pool of blood that had accumulated in the large room began draining out, the sound amplified in the deafening silence. "Congratulations, candidates. You ten have proven yourselves to be true Noxians. Now, we can begin our tests. And your next test begins immediately." The man said. "My name is Doctor Osvald Dimitri." The man introduced himself. He had short, spiky black hair, a long face with a straight nose and squinty eyes. He wore a lab coat that was from Zaun. "This is Corporal Vincent Everett and Corporal Sarah Hawkes." He said, gesturing to the two military soldiers standing next to him. Corporal Vincent was tall, with close-cropped dark red hair, a stocky muscular figure and stormy eyes. Corporal Sarah was shorter than both, but still quite tall as both the men were very tall. She had short blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. "We shall be the head co-ordinators and instructors of your Crimson Elite program."

"Your next test… Will be to sit here for the entirety of 24 hours. Without food. Without water. But, bear in mind that you 10 are among the strongest here as you have managed to fight through 490 other candidates to survive." Corporal Sarah said, her voice ringing with authority.

"Look at yourselves and at each other!" Vincent's firm voice rang out into the room. Talon narrowed his eyes, glancing at everyone else as they also glanced at each other. "Notice how you are all coated in crimson. This is the mark of acceptance. The mark that you have been accepted to become a Crimson Elite!" He said as Corporal Sarah looked at all of them. "Good luck, and may strength be with you, Noxians."

The doors of the hall closed just as one of the candidates cried out something, but the doors had already closed. Talon glanced at the man who had cried out. He looked in bad shape. He had lost an arm and was bleeding horribly from the stump.  
>"I-I-I need… I… Need medical help…" The man said in a panic, hyperventilating. Talon took a few moments to weigh his options. He walked towards the man, his steps echoing in the splashes of blood on the floor. Only a part of the blood had drained out, as the multiple corpses formed a sort of wall to prevent most of the blood from exiting the room.<p>

The man saw him approaching and jumped, quickly holding his shaking sword out at Talon, who halted his progress. "S-STAY BACK! I'M WARNING YOU."

"Calm yourself." Talon said, feeling the eyes of everyone in the room on him. "I offer you a mercy. Your wound is serious and it is obvious they will not provide any assistance to you… You know what I offer." He said, his voice instilling a deathly weight of silence upon the room.

Finally, the man shook his head violently, still holding the sword up at Talon as he said, "F-Fuck off! I'm not g-gonna die! Stay back before I g-gut you like a little f-fish!" The man sputtered, struggling to even hold up his sword as the blood poured freely from the stump that was formerly his arm. A second later, the man groaned before falling to the ground, unable to keep standing anymore as Talon shook his head, turning around and walking back to a corner of the room. Reaching the wall, he sat down, leaning against the wall as he listened to the man's dying moans.

"You don't look that good yourself."

A female voice to his left uttered those words as Talon looked in the direction. He saw a woman hugging her knees, completely covered in red from the blood so it was impossible to tell her features. Only her eyes were visible as they looked at him, and for a second he thought even those were covered in blood. But no, they were a rich red color, similar to Talon's own red eyes. Her eyes glanced down and Talon followed her gaze down at his side, seeing the long gash. He smirked as he registered the dull throb that it gave. "It looks worse than it is." He said as the girl's eyes seemed to gleam in reply.  
>"A flesh wound. We've all had our fair share of those." She said as he looked back up at her. She had a huge sword, almost as long as she was tall, propped up against the wall next to her.<br>"Which division are you from?" Talon asked, catching the meaning behind her words. The girl seemed to beam at him for asking as she proudly said, "I'm the Commander of the 32nd squad. My name is Riven." Riven said, before adding, "You?"

"I'm not from any squad… Name's Talon." He said as Riven frowned. "Your gear looks too well made to be civilian." She muttered, glancing at his armblade as Talon smirked, turning his head around towards her. He saw her eyes widen slightly in surprise as his impassive red eyes became visible to her below his hood.  
>"It's best you don't pry, Riven." He said as Riven didn't reply, simply staring down at the floor. Talon glanced at the other people in the room, seeing they had also taken spots near the walls. Some, like him, had found a companion to talk to.<p>

"How long do you think we'll have to be in here for?" Riven asked as Talon's lips twitched as the ghost of a smirk appeared on his face. "Seeing as only a few minutes have passed? Very long."

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><p><strong>The chapter was a bit short, yes, but introductory chapters are usually meant to be short.<br>****Next one will be a bit longer but don't hold onto your seats, as it usually takes me some time to get my lazy ass onto working on the next chapter.**

**As for my familiar readers, if any of you might be wondering about my other ongoing story, 'In her Icy Embrace', I'm afraid to say I can't give an exact date of when I'll update it. My Muse is what commands me to write and half the time, I do not know what I will write. I simply follow her flow when it comes and the results turn out to be awesome. Otherwise, I'm a ship at sea without a sail.**

**See you next time, dearest reader-kouhais.**

**~ Wings-Senpai**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yes, I'm on a roll. No, I don't think I'll be updating my other stories for a while. Excuse that of me.**

**This chapter is basically a small backstory on the route I'm taking on Riven's storyline and a recap of chapter 1 from Riven's perspective.**

**Enjoy**

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><p><strong>For Koneko-Chan, whose smile always makes me fall in love with her all over again.<strong>

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><p><span><strong>Crimson Hearts<strong>

**Chapter 2**

The chatter in the cafeteria hall was as loud as ever, with laughter and jeering of the soldiers sitting in the many tables set out for them. This was the dining room of the 32nd squadron, led by Commander Riven. The commander herself always sat at the tables with her men, as knowing her men would let them know her in return. After all, why would the men die for a commander that was a stranger? So Riven always kept a good relation with her men.

But tonight, her laughter was a bit awkward, her smiles half-hearted, her mood a bit down even as the men was raucous all around her. She picked at her food, not really eating it as a bang of her white hair hung in front of her face, hiding half her face from view as she stared down at the plate. A nudge at her side made her look to her side. Lucas was looking at her, concern taking the place of amusement on his face.

"Anything wrong, Riven?" He asked.  
>Lieutenant Lucas was Riven's Second-in-command and a good looking bloke to boot. He had choppy blond hair that stood up near the front, sparkling green eyes and a handsome face. He had a scar going from his left temple to the apex of his left cheek. It wasn't a big scar nor an ugly one but it was there, a testament to the life he led. He was also head over heels for Riven, though Riven couldn't find it in herself to return his affection fully, since she was married to duty. They were still a couple, of sorts.<p>

Riven sighed, not choosing to answer as Lucas gave her a small smile, putting his arm over her shoulder and holding her reassuringly to him. "Relax, Riven. You just focus on your assignments, I'll take care of the ones for this squad." He said as Riven stayed silent. Tomorrow, she would be entering the qualifications for the Crimson Elite. Like many, she was being given no choice of saying otherwise mainly due to her strong reputation as one of Noxus' strongest commanders. She wasn't that in important either, unlike Darius and Katarina, who were completely denied any chance to enter because of their standing. She was just a soldier, albeit a very strong one, so she _had_ to join this program. She was supposed to lead her 32nd squadron to battle tomorrow, against the Ionians. Singed had prepared a plan that wasn't completely disclosed to them, but it would ensure victory. But now, because of the program, the plans changed and Riven was supposed to be transported back to Noxus via the Noxian battlemages who were present, while Lucas was to take her place as the Commanding Officer of the 32nd squad.

"I don't know Lucas… I just… have a bad feeling. About all of this." Riven said with a small frown. She had learned many times over never to distrust her gut instincts. And right now, it was telling her that there was danger on both ends.  
>"Don't worry… You'll have enough stress tomorrow anyway, you should relax today." He said as Riven looked into his sparkling green eyes, smiling sadly at him. The sadness in her smile, partly because she worried about tomorrow and partly because she felt guilty for not being able to return the love full-heartedly.<p>

Lucas smiled back and leaned in to give Riven a small peck on her lips. "Get to bed, Riven. You need some shuteye."

Riven nodded, getting off of the table as the men's voices rose up to bid her a goodnight. Riven waved back at the men with less enthusiasm than she would've liked before heading to her tent for, as Lucas said, shuteye.

…

The next morning, I stood and watched my squad go, standing in the middle of the field as the battlemages who were to escort me were preparing their transportation spell. I stood there in my own custom Noxian armor. Large green shoulder plates accompanied the light-metal breastplate I wore, a simple chainmail shirt under that to protect the rest of my torso and arms. My right arm had a very large gauntlet decorated with a large green runic crystal, attuned to my sword, while my left gauntlet was regular sized but similarly decorated in terms of runes. Dark green pants were visible under her green tasset, with metal climbing from her boots to her thighs, offering good protection. All of her armor was heavy and tough, but enchanted with runic magic to keep them very light. It was a one of a kind set. Her sword was the greatest of them all, however. A massive 5 feet long blade, with glowing sigils along the length of its deadly metal, and with the added length of its handle, was just as tall as Riven's 5 feet 6 inch height when placed onto the ground. Maybe even more than her.

As the battlemages finalized their preparations, Riven moved to stand in the circle they had prepared. A few seconds later, she was enveloped in blue light for a few seconds. When the light cleared she was standing upon the summoning platform within Noxus, inside the military compound. A man greeted her as she stepped off and gave her directions where to go. Deep within the Noxian Military sectors, there was a hall room made for small gatherings. Walking down the hallway that led to it, she noticed many guards standing here and there, but paid them no heed. Finally, she entered the room and was surprised to see the amount of people there. This hall wasn't meant to accommodate so many, thus everyone was squeezed in. Riven herself felt pushed around inside the crowd, though she did not budge in those moments. Finally she found a small spot to stand in, though it was far from comfortable as it was in the middle of the sea of people.

And then she waited for the longest of times. Riven had long suspected she had a disease that the Zaunite doctors referred to as 'ADHD'. It was not really a disease, more of a blessing for the Noxians, as it attributed to what they called 'battle instincts'. Riven was born to be a soldier, and a damn good one to boot, but the drawback of this was that she wasn't very good with standing around and doing nothing. Though she had a lot of patience, it was simply a nagging feeling at the back of her mind that annoyed her to no ends.

Finally, a voice amplified by magic rung out in the room, echoing off the walls for all to listen.  
>"Good morning, candidates. As you all know, you are gathered here today to apply for the Noxian High Command's secret Crimson Elite protocol. Some of you might have thought why so many people are present for it."<p>

A pause. Absolute silence. Everyone was holding their breath.

"Others have guessed right. You see, there are about 500 of you but only 10 of you will be taken. Here is your first test, candidates. Prove yourself to be worthy of the top 10 spot. Survive and kill all others until only 10 of you remain."

Riven blinked as she heard the words, her mind instantly connecting the dots. She drew her sword and by the time everyone else was drawing theirs, she let out a fierce warcry to accompany the various others around the room, though hers were one of the fiercest. A shockwave of green energy emanated out from her, fading quickly but shoving back everyone who got hit by it as the green runes on her armor glowed vividly. She swung out with her sword in a deadly arc, slashing a multitude of people in half. Riven did not like to kill people. She did not like death at all, but right now, Riven was not the one in control of her actions. It was the soldier inside of her, a shield to protect her conscience from the guilt of causing so much bloodshed for the time being. Right now, she was a deadly killing machine.

Everything blurred as Riven's conscious mind disconnected from the battle of her body. This wasn't a fight… This was a simple slaughter. Was this really needed? Strength by killing the weak? Why were these people even here? Riven noted many of the people before she slashed them down. Emancipated beggars with no weapons aside from rusty shivs, farmers with the marks of starvation on their faces, pitchforks and other improvised weaponry at their hands, and simple conscripts of the army, far too green for true combat. Only occasionally did Riven find a true warrior, a mercenary from the Free Cities or a soldier from the Noxian army. Those were the only times that Riven connected mind and body again, enjoying the battle while it lasted. But in the end, she won again. And again.

There was one man who had made her pause. His features dictated him as an Ionian. What was an Ionian doing in the middle of a Noxian bloodbath? Riven didn't have time to wonder as the Ionian suddenly lunged at her managing to land a vicious uppercut at Riven. It was too fast, and her guard was far too down.

The punch seemed to hit her like a bronze bull, her majestic armor cracking from the force as she felt immense pain inside. The force sent her skidding backwards, but she recovered quick. Her eyes, normally a shade of red, glowed green with power as she took a distinct stance. The Ionian faltered, as if recognizing the stance. "That's…" He muttered, but was unable to finish his statement as Riven cried out with effort, a green arc of energy leaving her blade as she slashed out. It bifurcated the Ionian warrior cleanly at the waist, as well as severing many unlucky people standing in the path of the deadly wind slash. She saw that the room had cleared up a lot… A lot of time had passed since the first drop of blood was spilt, and as she watched, she saw a man sacrifice his arm to drive a dagger into another man's eye. The latter died instantly as a sound rang out in the room, ending their fight.

As the adrenaline died down, Riven came back to her senses and looked at herself and around her. She was covered in blood, like it was a second skin. Taking a step back led to a splash as she looked down to see a sea of blood ankle-deep in depth, pieces of organs and flesh floating across the blood. Even Riven, who had witnessed atrocities far more gruesome, was feeling sickened by this. Her body gave a painful throb, emanating from her midriff where the Ionian had struck and Riven fell back against the wall, barely managing to stand. Managing to place her sword against the wall beside her, Riven slid down the wall into a sitting position, trying to calm herself. She ended up thinking about her squad, a weight suddenly making its presence known inside her gut. Thinking about what was happening to them… What _terrible _things were happening to them without her to lead them… Riven was hugging her knees close without even realizing it. She also didn't register the 3 people at the door until they were done with their introductions.

She watched with a lack of feeling inside of her numb body as they gave them the details of their task and left them. The man who had lost his arm was near her, trying to stem the bloodflow. Suddenly, she saw a ghost. No, it wasn't a ghost, rather, a man coloured in the crimson that surrounded them. He wore a hood to conceal his features; a smart decision, Riven noted, as the visible lower part of his face wasn't _completely _covered with blood.

The man saw him approaching and jumped, quickly holding his shaking sword out at the hooded man, who halted his progress. "S-STAY BACK! I'M WARNING YOU." The armless man shouted.

"Calm yourself." Replied the hooded one, as Riven stared at him with a bit of curiousity as to why he was dressed so and why he had approached the man.  
>"I offer you a mercy. Your wound is serious and it is obvious they will not provide any assistance to you… You know what I offer." He said, his voice instilling a deathly weight of silence upon the room.<p>

Riven understood the offer he was giving the armless man, and she agreed with it, albeit with more regret and finality than the hooded man's flat voice seemed to give off. Finally, the armless man shook his head violently, still holding the sword up at his would-be helper as he said, "F-Fuck off! I'm not g-gonna die! Stay back before I g-gut you like a little f-fish!"  
>The man was struggling to even hold up his sword as the blood poured freely from the stump that was formerly his arm. A second later, the man groaned before falling to the ground, unable to keep standing anymore as the hooded man shook his head, turning around and walking towards her. Riven's heartbeat skipped a beat out of caution and fear, but she relaxed as he took a place in the corner of the room, close to her. Reaching the wall, he sat down, leaning against the wall as the dying man's moans echoed in the room.<p>

Riven debated her options. It was either think of the horrible possibilities for her comrades, listen to the man sobbing in his final hours, die of boredom or learn more about this interesting figure. The answer was obvious.

She studied him as best as she could in his red condition. His cape was odd, ending in 5 different tails. That was what first caught her attention. Then she noticed the glimmer of metal at the ends and how the ends seemed to be in a diamond-like shape and her eyes widened. His cape ended in jagged blades.  
>He also wielded a peculiar weapon; a jagged, smooth blade mounted on the outside of his right arm, looking more like a shield that was stretched and squeezed into its current shape. However, even from this distance, there was no denying its deadly edge, and an unorthodox weapon used by someone who knew how to use it was deadlier than a known weapon wielded by a blade-master. Finally, she noticed he seemed to be holding his side to stem a wound. It didn't seem to be serious, though it was hard to tell because of all the red.<p>

"You don't look that good yourself." Riven found herself speaking. His hooded face turned around to her direction, his face mostly hidden as a few bangs of long brown hair were visible under the hood. If he was surprised by her presence or statement, he didn't show. She glanced at his wound after a few seconds of silence had passed to signify what she had meant. He seemed to pick up.  
>"It looks worse than it is." His voice was deep and flat, as Riven looked back up at his face.<br>A painful throb in the center of her being reminded her of her own injury. "A flesh wound. We've all had our fair share of those." She said as he looked back at her. His eyes gave her a once over, flicking to her sword before back to her again.

"Which division are you from?" He asked as Riven felt a bit of satisfaction at the fact that he had been able to tell she was from the military. Trying not to feel too proud, she said, "I'm the commander of the 32nd squad. My name is Riven." She said, before glancing at him again. His gear didn't seem like it would be sold to civilians or at any shop. He had to be from the military as well. "You?" She asked.

"I'm not from any squad… Name's Talon." He muttered as Riven frowned. She was very sure he wouldn't have been able to get weapon and armor like that from any normal shop. "Your gear looks too well made to be civilian." She said, glancing at the ornate design of his blade and his vambrace. He turned to look at her then and her breathing stopped for a moment when she noticed his red gaze. He had eyes like her, which was a first given how red eyes weren't a common thing. However, unlike her own eyes, his seemed to smolder with an intensity she could not match. She was unable to stare back and found her gaze dropping to the floor.

"It's best if you don't pry, Riven." He answered as Riven stayed silent, staring down at the bloody floor. Looking down at it made her realize she was sitting on it. It was about 3 inches deep and she registered the sickly sticky feeling it gave her as it soaked into her pants and the smallclothes inside. Trying not to grimace, she looked back up at him again.

"How long do you think we'll have to be in here for?" She asked as his lips twitched. She was unable to say if he smiled or not given her profile view of his face. "Seeing as only a few minutes have passed? Very long."

Riven fought the urge to groan.

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><p><strong>Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. If you have any questions, thoughts or anything you wish to say, simply review on this story. Feel free to contact me as well for any queries you have. If you don't have an account, you can leave your words for me in the reviews and I'll answer them in the next chapter, as I always do.<strong>

**Have a good day, you guys! You're all awesome, remember.**

**- Wings Senpai**


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